Author: tconte
Robinson’s Clay Products Company
The Robinson Clay Product Company was a major producer of sewer pipe. Including its operations in Akron, the company had eight plants in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Robinson’s was one of many clay product companies with operations in Akron. Others included: American Vitrified Products Company, United States Stoneware Company, Summit China Company, M. A. Knight Company, Camp Brothers…
City Hospital
Opened in 1892, City Hospital provided a place where the sick and injured could be treated with the best principles of medical practice.
Grace Park
Grace Park wasn’t always a “shady” place. Back in the day, the park was one of Akron’s most popular retreats.It played host to picnics, leisurely strolls, community gatherings and fiery political speeches. Famous names like Hayes, McKinley, and Rosevelt stood in Grace Park to deliver their words to the people of Akron.
East Mill Street
Akron’s boom came from the rubber industry, but before that, it was an important canal town, a regional center for milling and a notable mass-producer of clay products.
Akron High School
The original Central building on Forge Street opened in 1886 and was initially named Akron High School. It was renamed Central High School in 1911 when the city opened the new South High School.
Perkins Square Play Ground
In this postcard view of old Akron, children of all ages can be seen playing together on teeter-totters (seesaws) at the Perkins Square play ground.
South High School
Built in 1911 at 30 West Thornton Street at Coburn, South was the city’s second high school. In 1956, after the construction of a new South High School, the original building became Thornton Junior High School and housed grades seven through nine until its closure in 1979.
B. F. Goodrich Company
Shortly before the Great Depression, Goodrich acquired the Hood Rubber Company of Water-town, Massachusetts, and the Miller Rubber Company of Akron. The Depression reduced rubber demand and affected the company’s labor relations with its 15,000 employees in Akron. The United Rubber Workers union (URW) was formed in 1934, and in 1936 national labor leader John…
Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity
Founders of Holy Trinity (1868) included famous Akronites such as John F. Seiberling, Charles Miller, and J.H. Hower. The pictured French Gothic style cathedral, with intricate hand carvings and beautiful stained glass windows, was built in 1914.
The Glen
A beautiful view of the river flowing through The Glen (today’s Gorge Park) Akron, Ohio (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio).
View on East Market Street
East Market Street featured the homes of F.A. Seiberling (Goodyear), Ferdinand Schumacher (Quaker Oats) and O.C. Barber (Diamond Match).
Firestone Tire and Rubber Co.
One of the largest rubber factories in the United States located in Akron, Ohio, the rubber center of the United States. This view shows plants number one and two and the steel products plant. It covers a great many acres and employs thousands of people.
Paul E. Werner’s Residence
While Akron’s most famous names were building their fortunes in rubber, Paul E. Werner had created a publishing empire that spanned the globe. Changes to international copyright laws lead to a series of suits against Werner’s publishing company. While he won most of the suits, the cost was high and ultimately toppled his vast empire. For…
East Market Street
The street has been called Millionaires’ Row by some and rightfully so. Before it was commercially developed, Akron’s East Market Street was populated by Akron’s most famous names. F.A. Seiberling (Goodyear), Ferdinand Schumacher (Quaker Oats), O.C. Barber (Diamond Match).
Firestone Research Laboratory and Monument
Harvey Samuel Firestone was born on December 20, 1868, at his family’s farm in Columbiana, Ohio. After graduating from Columbiana High School, Firestone worked for the Columbus Buggy Company before starting his own business in 1890. Firestone soon saw the potential for marketing automobile tires which led to the founding of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, a…
Main Street – looking North from Quarry
The Unique theater on Main Street was one of Akron’s famous vaudeville theaters. Around 1905, The Unique would be converted into Akron’s first motion picture theater.
Union Station
From 1891 through 1950, Akron’s Union Station was an important busy part of the city’s growth. The railroad station served passengers on trains from the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), Pennsylvania and Erie railroads. In 1950, the railroad station was replaced by the new Akron Union Depot.
West Hill Congregational Church
With a rapid increase of the Protestant population in the west part of the city, a new First Congregational Society formed in 1885. By 1887 the society had secured land and funding to construct their first church building at a cost of $6,300. The original church site was located on the Northwest corner of West…
East Market Street – Looking West
The Empire House opened on November 20, 1847. The hotel served Akron visitors until it was torn down in 1912 to make way for the Portage Hotel.
Diamond Rubber Company – A Night Scene
Ohio Columbus Barber, the founder of nearby Barberton, Ohio, was one of the early manufacturers of rubber products in Akron. He organized and managed the Diamond Rubber Company up to the time of its 1912 acquirement by the B. F. Goodrich Company.
Central High School – Akron High
Akron High School was located on Forge Street, between College and Union Streets, facing Union Park. The school was established in 1857, but the pictured building was erected in 1885 at a cost of $135,000. The main tower stood 108 feet from the ground and housed a 2000 pound bell. The four illuminated clock faces…
East Market Street Residence
Although difficult to recognize today, East Market Street was once home to the area’s wealthiest and most influential residents. From industrial tycoons to the political elite, East Market was where they called home.